The MA in English has a Field of "Text/Community/Discourse." As mutually informing concepts, "text," "community," and "discourse" suggest the power of texts to reflect and to shape both communities of origin and communities of reception. The Program also focuses critical attention on the kinds of negotiation both material and theoretical attending the production, performance and reception of texts. Literary and textual problems acquire richer significance when viewed in relation to the ways in which texts, both literary and non-literary, are produced and used in the often conflicting discourses that constitute the culture of a community.
This Program includes a preferred Major Research Paper Option and is designed to be completed in twelve months. A thesis option is also available under exceptional circumstances, with approval of the Graduate Program Director.

Successful completion of an Honours Bachelor's degree, or equivalent, in English Literature, with a minimum overall average of B+. Applications with a co-major in English and a related discipline will be considered, although such students may be required to take additional qualifying undergraduate courses. Applicants must supply three letters of reference, a personal statement of interest and goals of not more than two pages in length, and a representative piece of work.
Exceptions for students with unique circumstances will be considered.
The Graduate Admissions Committee will review all applications and recommend admission for a limited number of suitable candidates.
Individuals interested in part-time study should consult with the Graduate Program Director.

All students are required to take the two core courses, ENGL 5P00 and ENGL 5P01. Major Research Paper students must take four additional courses, from the variable topics offerings; Thesis students take two such additional courses. With the permission of the Graduate Program Director a student may take a course from one of the other MA programs in the university or a reading course/tutorial (ENGL 5P02) in place of a course from the variable topics list.
Research Paper students will with the guidance of the Graduate Program Director arrange for a supervisor and a second reader and shall choose a topic in consultation with the supervisor, the second reader and the Graduate Program Director. A Thesis student may, with the permission of the Graduate Program Director, arrange for a thesis supervisor; the student and the supervisor will, with a supervisory committee appointed by the Graduate Program Director, choose a thesis topic.

Note: not all courses are offered in every session. Students must consult with the Graduate Program Director regarding course offerings and course selection and must have their course selections approved by the Graduate Program Director each term. Refer to the Timetable for scheduling information:
http://www.brocku.ca/registrar/guides/grad/timetable/terms.phpENGL 5F90
Major Research Paper
A research project on a selected topic involving independent work and original research and thought.
ENGL 5F91
MA Thesis
An extended research project involving the preparation and defence of a thesis which shall demonstrate capacity for independent work and original research and thought.
ENGL 5P00
Theoretical Foundations
Survey and critical analysis of a broad range of theories bearing on the relation of literary texts to cultural formations.
ENGL 5P01
Graduate Seminar in Research and Professional Development
Topics such as the nature and requirements of academic work, research methodologies, research resources, the nature and requirements of the graduate thesis and research paper, the development of the research proposal, focused discussion of research and design strategies for the work proposed, the development of and adherence to a schedule, preparation of conference proposals and public presentations.
ENGL 5P02
Graduate Tutorial
Research course with directed study and regular meetings with a faculty member, covering topics not offered in a designated course. Requires permission of the Graduate Program Director.
ENGL 5V10-5V19
Medieval and Early Modern Literature and Culture
English literature, literary culture, and discourses on community from the 14th century to the late 17th century.
2006-2007: ENGL 5V11Christopher Marlowe, Trauma, Tragedy
The works of Elizabethan playwright and poet Christopher Marlowe in the contexts of early modern cultural and intellectual crises and literary responses to those crises. Emphasis on recent historical and theoretical approaches to Marlowe.
ENGL 5V20-5V29
The Long Eighteenth Century Literature and Culture
Studies in literature and culture from the Restoration of Charles II to the ascension of Victoria, 1660-1837.
2006-2007: ENGL 5V21Romantic Textual Bodies
Building on recent work treating visual, popular, and material cultures in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, we will explore the notion of "Romantic Bodies" in a wide variety of texts and discursive fields, from traditional, canonical, lyric poetry and novels to political writings, dramas, magazine and newspaper articles, and little-studied texts by "marginal" figures.
ENGL 5V30-5V39
Nineteenth Century British and American Literature and Culture
Literature and literary culture in relation to the political, social and intellectual movements of the 19th century. May include transatlantic or nationally located studies.
ENGL 5V40-5V49
Twentieth Century Literature and Culture
Literature and cultural identity, location and change in established and developing literatures in the 20th century.
2006-2007: ENGL 5V40War of/in Words: American Representations of Vietnam Examination of the evolving discursive parameters of America's involvement in Vietnam as rendered in fiction, poetry, memoir, and film, with emphasis on how various textual modes mediate individual and communal experiences of war and shape personal and public memory.
ENGL 5V50-5V59
Canadian Literature and Culture
Studies in Canadian literature with an emphasis on texts and their relation to intersecting notions of community.
ENGL 5V60-5V69
Contemporary Literature and Culture
The role of literature in the creation and maintenance of located and imagined communities in the contemporary world.
ENGL 5V70-5V79
Special Topics in Literature and Culture
Literature, culture and community in areas such as genre studies, specialized theoretical studies and comparative historical studies.
ENGL 5V80-5V89
Rhetoric and Discourse Studies
Study of rhetoric, genre, discourse and language. Topics may include rhetorical instatiations of textual communities, ideologies of language as they operate in conceptualizations of nation and self, and discourse analytic methods for examining texts and their contexts.
ENGL 5V80
2006-2007: Beyond Dailiness: Literary Journalism and the Art of the Factual
Examination of literary journalism and its relationship to the communities in which it is produced and read. Special focus on works written after WWII and questions they raise concerning the relationship between genre and history.